Tag Archives: Thomas Hardy

They Shoot Puppies, Don’t They?

By Robin Bates | Published: April 30, 2024

Gov. Kristi Noem boasting of shooting her puppy brings to mind the tragic dog killing by Gabriel Oak in Hardy’s “Far from the Madding Crowd.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Adam Serwer, animal cruelty, Charlotte's Web, E. B. White, Far from the Madding Crowd, Fred Gipson, George Orwell, Harper Lee, Kristi Noem, Old Yeller, Shooting an Elephant, To Kill a Mockingbird | Comments closed

Welcoming in May with a Dance

By Robin Bates | Published: April 30, 2023

In Hardy, Mayday dancing is a way of connecting with ancient roots

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Spring", May Day, maypole dancing, Return of the Natve, Tess of the D'Urbervilles | Comments closed

Poetry in the Face of Disaster

By Robin Bates | Published: February 9, 2023

Even poetry seems inadequate in the face of a disaster like the Turkish-Syrian earthquake. But poetry is what we have.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Hap", earthquakes, Ruth Ozeki, Tale for the Time Being, Turkish-Syrian earthquake | Comments closed

Song of Hope: The Night Cloud Is Hueing

By Robin Bates | Published: March 15, 2021

With the passage of the Covid relief bill and increased vaccinations, Hardy’s “Song for Hope” seems appropriate.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Song of Hope", Covid relief bill, COVID-19, Donald Trump, hope, Joe Biden | Comments closed

When Fiction Trumps Truth

By Robin Bates | Published: May 28, 2019

Wednesday Writing last week for the New York Times’ “What Is Power?” series, Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari argued that fiction is a more powerful force than truth in politics. I extend the discussion to literature (which Harari does not discuss) because of its reliance upon fabrication in the service of a higher understanding. Camus, […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Geoffrey Chaucer, Lying, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Wife of Bath, William Shakespeare, Yuval Noah Harari | Comments closed

Vets in WWI Documentary Do Not Age

By Robin Bates | Published: March 11, 2019

Tuesday Last night Julia and I watched Peter Jackson’s extraordinary documentary about World War I in which he applied filmmaker’s magic to archival footage to create a sense of immediacy. By brightening dark shots and darkening overexposed ones, erasing scratches, evening out movement (World War I film was shot with hand-cranked cameras), turning long-shots into […]